Hospital-acquired pneumonia
Alternative names:
nosocomial pneumonia
Definition:
An inflammation of the lungs from an infection contracted
during a hospital stay.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
Pneumonia is a very
common serious illness and affects 1 out 100 people each year.
It is caused by many different organisms and can range in
seriousness from mild to a life-threatening illness. Hospital-acquired
pneumonia tends to be more serious because defense mechanisms
against infection are often impaired, and the kinds of infecting
organisms are greater than generally encountered in the community.
Risk factors predisposing people to hospital-acquired pneumonia
are alcoholism, older
age, immunosuppression
from medications or diseases, recent illness, and risk of
aspiration. The incidence
is 5 out of 100,000 people.
Updated Date: 02/09/00
Updated By:J. Gordon Lambert, MD, Associate Medical Director,
Utah Health Informatics and adam.com
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